Travel

The picturesque mountains of France play home to a plethora of world-class events throughout the year, both for participants and spectators. This summer alone has a wide choice events for hardcore cyclists, runners, families, foodies and music-lovers, who'll all find a great activity to punctuate their holidays. Here, we've rounded up this season's selection of unmissable events taking place in the French mountains over the coming months. Tempted? Gastronomy Reblochon Festival, La Clusaz, 9 August 2015: A festival celebrating local...

Here's a competition for Facebook fiends, Pinterest peeps and those with unsteady hands - we have FIVE Panoramic Pods to give away. These neat contraptions take the imperfections out of hand-held panorama pics, moving neatly from one end of a pic to another, without those annoying black bits ruining your potential cover shot. Of course, the tripod works perfectly on its own, allowing steady photos and videos - ideal for skiing vistas, beach shots and natural expanses.   It works...

By Ben Griffin, founder of Great Escapes Wales Breaking all previous records, 10 million overseas visitors came to the UK in just the first four months of the year. This means that we are well on track to see the 6% rise in visitors for 2015 as predicted by the UK’s tourism board. These tourists are a vital part of our economy. It may come as a surprise to those busy complaining about the British weather, but tourism is the...

By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent  Brits are choosing holidays to countries and landmarks made famous by TV and film, according to new research, with New Zealand, Malta, the USA and Dorset among the most popular destinations. One in four adults now regularly pick where to go on their next holiday based on filming locations used in their favourite TV shows or films. New Zealand, used to film much of The Lord of the Rings came top in the poll of film locations...

By Emma Silverthorn I wouldn't generally review an airport, these liminal spaces being dull, if not depressing, but Comiso actually deserves a few words. The entry point to the south east of Sicily, this airport tells you much about this region of Italy. This was by far the friendliest airport I've ever been in. The staff going above and beyond, they let our group go over our luggage allowance (don't tell Michael O'Leary) and actually sought out a wine-saving solution...

By Harry Bedford Thirty years ago Boracay was a desert island paradise, with no electricity supply or motorised vehicles in the heart of the Philippines archipelago. Today, Boracay’s beautiful White Beach is lined with McDonalds, Starbucks, Seven-Eleven and countless hotels, bars, restaurants and clubs, rapidly becoming the country’s number one tourist destination. For many in the western world the Philippines can feel like a remote, isolated and inaccessible destination; further away and more expensive than the likes of Thailand and...

Between checking everybody’s passport is in date, stocking up on suncream, arranging airport transfers and washing and ironing countless pairs of shorts and t-shirts, there is little time when planning a family holiday to consider what may happen should something go wrong, either before the trip or during. What happens if your youngest falls ill the morning of the flight and no-one can travel? If you arrive at your hotel and it is totally different to the one in the...

By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent  Travelodge is a hotel chain synonymous with towns and cities across Britain. Booking a city break? Attending a wedding? Away on a business trip? Chances are that we have all stayed in one of their 521 hotels that span across England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Spain at some point. It started with a single customer paying £19.50 for a room in 1985. Now – 110 million visits, 25 million breakfasts and 220,000 abandoned books later –...

By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent  An adventurer has traversed the World in record time, without leaving London. Globetrotter Lee Thompson, 32, circumnavigated the globe in 12 hours by 'visiting' ten countries in the capital in only half a day. He created a video documenting his "travels" to Germany, Turkey, Russia, Thailand, India, China, the United States, Jamaica, Ghana and Lebanon. The 32-year-old starts off by telling viewers that the following footage will show his attempt to circle the globe in...